Episode 42 - End Table (Pt. 6)
March 3, 2008 | Filed Under All Videos, Blog, Marc's Projects, Video
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Well here it is: the big finale!! This video focuses primarily on finishing techniques and the attachment of the top to the table. I will warn you ahead of time that there are a lot of Wood Whisperer musings in this episode. This End Table series proved to be one of the most challenging and thought-provoking sets of videos I have ever produced. So needless to say, I had a few thoughts and conclusions that I felt I needed to share. Thanks for playing along everyone and enjoy! Oh and one more thing, nothing will prepare you for the first 25 seconds!
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46 Responses to “Episode 42 - End Table (Pt. 6)”
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Vic: 2:38 pm: I hope you got a good grade for that. Although I not a big fan of the style, I know...
Keith Cruickshank: 8:04 am: Hi Marc: Thanks for the mention about my woodtreks.com video blog....
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Marc,
Awesome!! The table really turned out really nice. Keep up the great work.
Aaron
Change your name to The Wood Philosopher !
Once again an another enjoyable episode. For us finishing newbies can you please explain the choices for why shellac then arm r seal then seal a cell, eg what does shellac add , why no shellac on legs, is shellac not enough etc…
genius!
great show, great table! btw, why is there a barbie-doll in the shop? :)
Barbie doll???? Dude…thats an official Dashboard Hula Girl… 5 points if you can find the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
Awesome job. and great links. Charles Neil really breaks finishing down. great combo.
by the way got to try your crunchy french toast!! wow thats a great start. very filling..
u mean these two by the drill bits? donatello and michelangelo? :D
Oh come on, what a softball!! we all know he’s keeping the drill bits company! and thank you for ruining “eye of the tiger” for me, i can never listen to that song again with a straight face!
Hey Mark,
The finally was definitely worth waiting for! The top looks great. Very enjoyable episode. I have learned a lot of new things in this series, so keep up the good work.
Luke
we all learned something from this series, and its called Patience!
NOTE TO NICHOLE:
Please make sure that Marc gets back on is meds. It might also be a good idea to have him cut back on some of the coffee. After watching the “The Eye of the Tiger Maple!” it’s obvious the boy needs some serious help. I’ll never be able to listen to the song again with out bursting into hysterical laughter.
NOTE TO MARC:
Another terrific episode! You have really outdone yourself with this segment. You’ve set your standards so high it’s going to be hard to top this one. The techniques you have shown us for finishing are excellent. Definitely an episode that I’ll end up watching over and over and over….. Keep up the good work.
In case anybody hasn’t realized this yet, this is one episode that really deserves to be downloaded in the high-def format.
Marc, it came together nicely. Can we get a photo of it once it is in place?
Matt
Marc,
The table looks great.. and very chatoyancey :)
So is your table creation consistent with “my” taste in furniture. Definitely NOT. I get nervous when my furniture doesn’t have all right angles!
Does it matter? NO!
Did I watch anyway? Of course.
WHY?
1. Wood Whisperer episodes are always fun to watch.
2. There is a good balance of fun, demonstration of technique, and sharing of your design thinking.
2. Enthusiasm for what you do is contagious and makes me want to buy more tools and make sawdust (but only sawdust made cutting right angles)
3. I always learn something
Take a deep breath and on to the next project!! (Maybe with more right angles…or maybe not. :) )
Thanks for the series and take care.
rjh
Love it. Question - there must be a little visual tension in placing it along the wall. With the top the way it is positioned you lost the ’straight edge’ if you were. So does one of the top corners go into the wall or does one of the legs go into the wall. I bet you lost that arguement in your home.
Great effort - love the finish - can’t wait for the next series. I’m also interested in your answer regarding the different phases of your finishing (e.g. why shellac on the table but not the legs, etc.).
Fantastic Marc: I loved the “eye of the tiger”, very entertaining. Great piece of furniture and I really enjoyed your finishing techniques. I’d like your opinion about a solution to the steel pins and it involves a mechanical element. Since I have some background in stair construction the thought occurred to me that you could have drilled two of the holes in the top one inch deeper and placed a spring behind the steel pin. With springs in two of the holes the top would be removable making the finishing step even easier. What is your opinion in adding a mechanical element to your creations?
I actually came to your blog because you were in a Festool newsletter.
Well, I’m glad I did come over; you have made a very nice table. I will be sure to stick around for more.
Nice job man!
I have been interested in adding metal elements into my future projects so I really like the way the top came out.
It’s good to see you get back to your crazy antics in the video as well.
Contrats on a job done very well. You should be very proud.
Nice to see you back to some humor. Awesome looking table… please keep up the great job.
THE BEST INTRO EVER!!!!!
Marc;
Could you give us some pointers concerning what we need to look for when we want to pop grain? For example you poped the grain on the maple top but not on the walnut legs. Was this purely for aesthetics or because walnut can’t be popped? What characteristics should we for in a wood to determine if can indeed be popped?
Your table turned out great. I think your choices were made with the wisdom of a shaman or sage or buda monk. I am in awe!!
My humble thanks for sharing.
great episode…. thanks for your insights… love feeling like I am speaking to a fellow woodworker…no one else feels about wood like I do…
nancy
I agree with Steve’s NOTE TO NICOLE. Get back on your meds and cut out the caffeine!!
Just kidding. The final finish is beautiful.
Jim
Marc, I disagree with some other commenters - I think you’re more fun off the meds. Congratulations on finishing the table! It looks great.
Beautiful table. Not my style, but inspiring none the less.
I noticed you are pushing your video skills as well as your design skills. I really liked the part when you talk about finishing the top of each leg and have the four little videos in the corners - quick, to the point and not overdone. The high res really shows off the great camera work and lighting not to mention the beauty of the woods and finish.
Thanks for the great site and clear, insightful videos.
Enjoyed watching the project - many thanks for providing the adventure.
Chatoyance? Geez, what a great word., but its not that hard to understand. Basically oil has a refractive index that matches that of the wood fibers, so light doesn’t scatter as it enters the wood, hence the finish looks “deeper”. Water has a smaller refractive index, so the wood (or paper bag) don’t look quite as deep as with an oil. Bare wood scatters light like crazy, looking very light, almost white.
Quick question: You applied the finish perpendicular to the grain. I was always taught to go with the grain. Is there any reason to your method? I also second the questions on shellac and where it was and wasn’t applied.
Thanks!
OK, lots of questions to answer. Hopefully I won’t miss any. The only reason I used shellac on the top was because of the dye situation. I like using shellac to help lock down the dye. It may not be 100% necessary depending on what dye you use, but I really prefer it as a nice safety measure. As for the legs, they are just straight walnut and I didnt apply a dye. So they got the standard Seal-a-Cell /Arm-R-Seal finish.
Gator- Fortunately, the table is going in an unusual spot between our sectional. Perfect for that spot.
Pops- I have problems with the spring idea. But I still dont see how it would ever be possible to remove the top. All four would have to be spring loaded and I would need an extra set of hands. :) At least as far as my brain understands it.
Steve- The deal with the grain popping really has to do with figure. If the wood is plain and simple, there really isnt much to pop. If the wood exhibits some cool curl, burl, quilt, or some other type of weird grain variations, the popping can be done. Straight-grained walnut would still look fantastic if you used the popping figure on it, but it wouldn’t really look any different than if you just applied a clear coat. The real key is grain variation.
Clif- You can apply the first coat of finish (wiping formula) in just about any direction, really. It all gets absorbed. But my final strokes are usually with the direction of the grain just out of habit. Better safe than sorry, right? By the second coat though, you should definitely do your final wipe with the grain because you will start to build a finish at this point.
Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments. This was such a neat little experiment and I appreciate you guys taking the time to watch it all go down. I really feel like we are breaking some serious new ground here in interactive woodworking education, and I’d like to thank you all for taking part in it. And yes, I will post a couple nice pics as soon as they are ready.
And I have also made the decision to focus on finishing for the next few shows. Its seems like there is a LOT of interest here and I would be more than happy to share what I know.
GREAT! Everyone is ahead of me! Marc, I only got thru the first ten minutes at lunch today. I got “talked to” by my boss’s boss’s boss to “keep it down”! How was I supposed to know you were gonna make me p*ss myself! Well, THANKS!!! Anyway, it was worth it to see you
the Bugs Bunny ballet leap. I can’t wait to finish the video. The table turned out very beautiful, perfect balance in form and material.
One thought that sprung to mind. You might use tiny rare earth magnets in the leg hole, with the table top holes being 1″ extra deep. Then you wouldn’t need more than two hands. Not that I can think of why it would be very useful to be able to remove the table top.
Awesome finale Marc. Love the figure in the wood, it’s so beautiful. I enjoyed hearing your philosophy, we sometimes forget that this is art we are producing, not just furniture. Can’t wait for the next project!
Terrific finish to the series and to the table. I laughed at your comments about sanding down the top a few times. I have finished and sanded down a new piece more times than I care to mention. It always improves and ages the look. I should just plan it that way! I’ve been following you, Neil and Charles for a while now. It’s great to hear each of you mention the other. For us all it’s like we have a whole faculty in this “online school”. Thanks for another great job, I look forward to future episodes.
Marc, really nice table. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the top but the overall project turned out great. I have a question regarding the pins. Did you consider drilling holes down the center of walnut dowls and inserting the stainless pin inside the dowel. It would have the strength and durability to hold the top but still look like wood. Would there be any issues with this or is it just design and work?
Hey Todd. No real issue with that except that I don’t think its necessary. Regular walnut dowels would be strong enough to secure the top in place. I just liked the concept of steel so I included it just for fun.
Beautiful piece. I call all my mistakes and solutions “design opportunities”. thanks alot
Definitely your finest video work to date, Marc. This series sets a new standard for the Wood Whisperer. I really appreciate your extended discussion of design in this episode, as well as the little monologue on the contemplative side of creativity while applying a finish. The opening segment is entertaining in a deeply disturbing sort of way. Very nice!
Great finish on the piece. I ordinarily go for “satin” finishes, but the semi-gloss accentuates the modern (post-modern?) character of the piece, as do the steel rods. I agree with your idea of bulking up the middle and doing more sculpting in the Maloof style.
Looking at the final design, I wondered how the piece might have looked if the top were the same shape, but larger than the area circumscribed by the legs, and it sat on steel rods that came up from the ends of the legs suspending it above the plane of the legs.
As you say, a work of art elicits conversation and commentary, and you have produced a work of art. Congratulations!
Another great episode. One question on the possibilities for the top. You mentioned that if you did it over, you might use dowels into holes drilled into the legs. How would you account for wood movement? Once the top is attached, if (when) it shrinks, the dowels would be exposed.
Very nice piece, congrats.
Marc,
That turned out really nice. I got to finish watching this episode on today’s lunch. I really appreciate you taking us, not only through the construction process, but the thought process as well. Great insights!
Only one thing wrong with this episode: Don’t apologize for delivering what has got to be the funniest moment in woodworking shows EVER!!! I really enjoyed the design journey of this piece, this is usually rushed over on regular TV shows (for obvious reasons - no putting any blame here). Looking forward to whatever you have planned next.
Hey Marc:
I was with you and Stallone, but then did I see a cheerleader type split move….I lost concentration on that one for a moment :)
As you and I have discussed, I view this piece as one part to a journey of SUPER effort. Running a blog, e-mails, dodging scapers as you called them, audio-podcast, shooting video, editing video, judging shows, blog contests, watching forums, posting on forums and in amongst all this contributing the build and educational value of an end table. Nicely done!!!!
I’d love to see 3 to 5 of your viewers challenge themselves and take the theme of your piece and see what evolves. In essence construct a series of the piece and see what the outcome is. Approximate dimensions and style, mix media, that would be fun, maybe a Festool give away as the motivation.
As I menioned to you previously…..from my evaluation criteria A++
Neil
The more I looked at your table, the more it seemed somehow familiar, Marc. Then it hit me. Your table would go perfectly in the restaurant at LAX. It’s called “Encounter” and it has a 1960’s ultra modern decor. (Imagine Disneyland’s Tomorrowland meets Austin Powers.) Many of those designs look tacky because they’re made of plastic. Your table, however, looks great with a modern design and classic, contrasting wood tones.
I look forward to future episodes about finishing. This is one area where other woodworking shows have been seriously lacking. As much as I like DJM and Norm, they never had more than a few seconds on their shows to cover finishing.
Hey Marc,
Thanks for taking us on the entire journey.
Demonstrating your techniques, discussing your design philosophy, sharing your problem solving and critiquing your own piece took A LOT of guts!
What a great learning experience.
Thanks for sharing all of this with us; and thank you for all of your time and efforts.
Glad you are off the meds. (-:
It was good to see the clown in his castle again; and, as always your choice in music (that funky jazz stuff), was hot!
Grant
The table is not bad. I like the colour and size. I wish there was some glass in it though!
Can’t wait for the next video!
Lates
Neil wrote: “I’d love to see 3 to 5 of your viewers challenge themselves and take the theme of your piece and see what evolves. In essence construct a series of the piece and see what the outcome is. Approximate dimensions and style, mix media, that would be fun, maybe a Festool give away as the motivation.”
This is an awesome suggestion!
Marc,
Great videos and beautiful table! I really do enjoy watching you work.
I have a question about the bottom of the grooves that you routed for the steel dowels to hang the top on. I may have missed some part of the process, but since the dowel is round and it looked like you used a straight grooving bit, what did you do at the bottom of the groove where the dowel comes out of the leg? Did you use a core box bit or just file the groove bottom with a round file? I admit this has been a bit of a curiosity for me, an itch that needs to be scratched.
I apologize if I missed something in the videos that would answer this.
Thanks, and once again , I enjoy your website and watching your videos! Gary
Hey Gary. I did use a straight bit there. I didn’t round the bottom of the groove but the I did give a little bit of a rounded profile to the inlay pieces.